More than 100 million Americans have high blood pressure. But how would you know if you were experiencing elevated blood pressure?

That’s a bit tricky, because high blood pressure is what’s known as a silent condition. That’s why our team at AFC Urgent Care Gastonia wants to take a few minutes to talk through what high blood pressure is, how to keep tabs on your blood pressure and how to maintain a normal blood pressure.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

Before you can really understand what it means for your blood pressure to be elevated, you need to know what blood pressure even is. It’s pretty simple, actually.

Blood pressure is the pressure with which blood courses through your arteries when it moves through the body. When your blood pressure is high—a condition also called hypertension—it means that your blood is hitting your artery walls very forcefully. Over time this can cause damage.

Hypertension Risk Factors

• Living a sedentary lifestyle
• Eating a poor diet
• Eating too much sodium or not enough potassium
• Being overweight or obese
• Having a family history of high blood pressure
• Smoking
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Not properly managing stress

How Can I Maintain Normal Blood Pressure?

We just went over the risk factors for high blood pressure. You have no control over your family’s medical history. But other than that, all other risk factors are things you can change.

So, your first best step is to review your risk factors. From there, you can take steps to live a healthier lifestyle and maintain normal blood pressure.

Habits That Lower Blood Pressure

• Exercise at least 30 minutes on most days.
• Eat a balanced diet filled with fruits and veggies.
• Limit your intake of sodium.
• Don’t smoke.
• Limit your alcohol intake to one drink per day for women and two for men.
• Find healthy ways to manage stress, such as meditation or yoga.

Feeling under the weather? Schedule an AFC TeleCare appointment with AFC Urgent Care Gastonia today to get the care you need from the comfort of home.